Many Saint Louis University students will recognize the Center for Vaccine Development from its school-wide emails attempting to recruit volunteers for research studies.

Most recently, an email titled “The Center for Vaccine Development needs 18-40 year old volunteers for a TB vaccine study” found its way to many SLU inboxes.

But before clicking “Delete,” perhaps it would be helpful to learn a little more about where those messages come from, and why.

From the Mission Statement on its website, the Center’s purpose is to “promote health for the greater good of humanity through research to improve vaccinations that prevent disease for people of all ages.”

The Center recruits volunteers primarily from its mailing list of about 15,000 people who’ve expressed interest in participating in research, but it also uses the SLU Newslink and student emails.

Karla Mosby, RN, CCRC, is in charge of recruiting volunteers for the Center, and she maintains that not all studies lend themselves to student participation.

For example, one TB study lasts two years and “requires a lot of availability in the first two months,” Mosby said.

Other studies, such as one for an experimental pneumococcal vaccine, require volunteers to stay in the facility for about 12 days.

While many studies are unsuitable for the busy academic lifestyle, others are more feasible. A smallpox vaccine study is more flexible, with seven visits over seven months.

According to a pamphlet from the Center, the study pays $75 a visit.

To participate in a study, volunteers should begin by sending an email expressing interest. The Center will then send a consent form, which has been approved by the Institutional Review Board, with information on the particular study.

[The Center gives volunteers] time to read about it, [to discover] what the risks are and [to decide] what they’re comfortable with,” Mosby said.

At a screening visit, employees of the Center will go through the consent form with the volunteer.

The Center for Vaccine Development is funded by the National Institute of Health, and it is one of only eight Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units, specialized institutions that are charged with fighting outbreaks of infectious disease.

The Center was at the forefront of research on the H1N1 vaccine during the recent outbreak, although it did not recruit from SLU at the time because media coverage for the disease was extensive. The Center continues to research more effective vaccines for diseases such as tuberculosis, which is a major cause of death worldwide.

For more information, see the Center for Vaccine Development’s website at vaccine.slu.edu